In the Concrete Room
by Haileyamandar
Summary: Sasuke and Sakura are brought together in a strange happening... Perhaps because their hearts had been longing for one another for so long. Shippuuden oneshot; dark concept.


"Why are you here?"

I was in a dark room. There were no windows, no openings of any kind, but somehow there was a gentle breeze that swirled about the small rectangular passage. My pink hair tumbled about my cheeks. It helped to remind me that I still existed even in this hollow place.

I remember smelling something sweet as I tiptoed forward, towards the dark shape in the furthest corner away from me. I knew I had smelled that same scent before… But my memories eluded me and I could not remember what its significance was. I shivered underneath my clothes.

"Sasuke-kun…"

There was no light in this room, either. But somehow I could see his face so clearly as I stood, rigid with shock. It had been a long time since I was able to see the familiar contours of his sleek body but the effect was the same as it had always been. I gasped for breath and my heart raced, and I longed to be closer to him.

He was standing straight, facing the wall. I could see his profile – his button nose and his sharp chin were somehow the same as they had been three years ago, but he had clearly aged. I can't recall what he was wearing… But I remember seeing smooth, pale shoulders, a belly button, and an Adams Apple that had balanced feebleness underneath the skin of his neck.

"Why are you here?" he asked again, his voice melancholy. My breathing became labored and took a step backwards, feeling fear. Why I was afraid, I wasn't sure. It had been my dream to be alone with Sasuke for years, but the intimacy that I longed for wasn't here. My eyes were still hot with teardrops but no liquid trails had been formed down my cheeks. Not yet.

"I miss you," came my squeaked response. It didn't sound like me; and that's when I realized my voice seemed to be bouncing off the concrete walls, echoing inside of my head. I had no idea where I was or what kind of place I was in but I felt all of my courage quickly frittering away.

The black-haired man finally turned his entire body to look at me. We made eye contact, but I had to look away. His eyes were always so beautiful; I always had a hard time holding his gaze. This time seemed to be the same. And his face… His face was more than beautiful. It was perfection. And here, in this small, empty room, everything about him seemed to be intensified. Including my desires.

I heard him take a step towards me.

"Why do you miss me?" he whispered.

I still didn't dare take a glance up at him. I shut my eyes tight.

"I… I miss feeling safe with you," I told him, inhaling a shaky breath. My arms instinctively wrapped around my upper body, shielding my breasts and heart from his impeding gaze. I felt naked in that moment, consumed by so many insecurities that had built up inside me over time. And I had the strangest feeling… That Sasuke could see them all.

There was a long silence until he spoke once more. "Why do you feel safe with me?"

My eyes slowly opened and I peeked at his toes. The small breeze suddenly picked up and it blew away the hair that had been hiding most of my face. "I'm… We are the same. I know you will never hurt me."

It was then that I found myself daring to look into his eyes, and I did. As I did so I became obviously aware of how much closer he had crept towards me, and the alarms began to sing inside my brain. But what kept me standing in my place, from fleeing, were the depths of his shadowed eyes and the emotion that swirled within them. He looked deeply disturbed, and it was a look I had only ever seen once in my entire lifetime. After he bore the curse mark that had taken him away from me.

"Sakura…"

It was the first time in this encounter that he spoke my name. And it made the bottom of my stomach churn. I was unsure if this was a positive reaction or just the opposite.

I watched silently as he lifted an arm, an outstretched hand slowly making its way towards my left shoulder. Numbly I saw the flat of his fingers caress my skin, and goose bumps tingled throughout my body. With his touch, I instantly began to feel my breathing become slower, more normal, and the fear I was harboring slowly began to subside. I closed my eyes and sighed, getting caught up in the naturalness of the moment.

"Why do you love me?"

My eyes snapped open and I flinched. His question caught me off guard, and I found myself turning away from him. The emptiness I had felt was starting to overtake me once again, and I cupped my head in my hands.

"I can't love you. It's wrong," I raised my voice, shuddering as the noise multiplied in my head like I was speaking in a megaphone. Desperateness began to plunge its way into my heart and I searched for a way out of this room. To get away from Sasuke. Why did I want to get away from him?

The room had no entrance. And so it had no exit. Where was I? Sasuke instantly appeared in front of me, gripping my arm with such gentleness that the tears began to fall. I remember trying to scream but hearing nothing but the dripping sound of my tears as they hit the cold, stone floor.

"I betrayed my home to avenge my family… Is that why it's wrong for you to love me?" I thought I heard his voice crack in-between his sentence, but I know I imagined it.

_Sasuke-kun is perfect. He's always been perfect._

I looked at his face and saw my own in the reflection of his black eyes. My eyes were haunted, lost, disbelieving. But I was forced to speak, as if I was not allowed to be silent in this horrible place. "Because… You betrayed _me! _I needed you, Sasuke, you were everything to me! My heart was dying, but whenever I was around you… I felt whole again. I wanted to protect you from the world, and kiss away all of your pain… But you refused to let me into your heart. You chose to let both of us die."

He let go of my arm. "I had no heart, Sakura."

Rage consumed me when I heard him speak those words. I wiped away my tears and stood up straight, locking gazes with him. "Yes you did, damn you! You've always had a heart, and I was always determined to show you that. I never got a chance! You left me. And… It hurt so much. It hurt so much, Sasuke."

I was caving in. I began to slump over myself, falling towards the floor, when he caught me in his strong arms, lifting me back onto my feet. I began to cry again, and he pulled me into an embrace, forcing my head against his chest. I obsequiously obeyed; it felt so good to be with him like that. We stood there for a long time, with him holding me, rubbing my head comfortingly, and I eventually began to calm my soul. The tears stopped. My face was dried. But I only held him against me tighter.

I devoured the scent that he was covered in. And then it came to me; the smell that I had caught when I first appeared in this place, it was just how he smelled that night when he left the village and I came to intercept him. When he stood behind me and the wind blew his pungent aroma all around me.

"You were starting to bring me back, Sakura," he finally whispered, grasping firmly at my clothing on my back. "I was beginning to feel… Happy. I knew you cared so deeply about me. I felt something there, too. I longed to be loved by another family. I had that family. But the day that I left, a dark shadow overcame me and I lost sight of what I had. I just want you to know, Sakura, I'm thinking about you every waking moment of my life, and I'm dreaming of the future we could have had."

"Then come back to me," I breathed, wrapping the palm of my hand around his left cheek. His respiration became heavier at my touch – so did mine. He leaned into my hand like he had wanted that touch forever.

"I can't come back. Not today, not tomorrow. But someday… We'll be together. I will avenge the time that I lost with you. I will come back to my family. I will redeem myself. I will get to tell you that I love you – in person."

He kissed me for the first time. It wasn't anything like I had dreamed of. His lips were smoother than I had imagined. His body reacted pleasantly, entwining around mine, and I let him dominate every move.

"Forgive me," he gasped in-between a kiss, his fingers tangled through my pink hair. "I don't deserve you."

I smiled against his lips and traced my fingers across his chin. It was perfect, with no five' o'clock shadow or scars or contortions. Just milky, smooth skin. Perfect as always. "I will wait for you… I've always been waiting for you."

I was oddly grateful for the concrete room. Being trapped with Sasuke, anywhere for eternity, was like heaven. No one could come in and hurt us. We had each other all to ourselves as we touched and hugged against the cold walls, forgiving each other and making more promises we knew we would keep.

A few minutes later, I opened my eyes to a bright light. It was moonlight shining through my window. I was lying on my bed, still in my clothes, and Sasuke's sweet scent swirled around my room like he had just been here.

I still wonder sometimes where I had been. Whether or not it was really just a dream. But I still hold on to hope… The hope that one day Sasuke and I will find each other again. We might have been put on separate paths, but in the end, all roads connect to one another.

* * *

Far, far away, a black-haired man sat in the branches of a tree, staring sleepily up at the moon.

_I love you, Sakura._

**Author's Note:** **A Heart of Gold's sequel is in progress. I have my official plotline on paper and I am in the process of writing it.**


End file.
